(Telecompaper) The new 'privacy shield' agreement on the transfer of personal data between the US and the European Union has become operational. As of 01 August, businesses can 'self-certify' through a special website set up by the US Department of Commerce to ensure they meet the criteria for protecting personal data transferred across the Atlantic. Each business wanting to make such transfers must develop its own privacy policy incorporating the 23 principles of data protection enshrined in the privacy shield and also set up an independent recourse mechanism so data subjects may file and resolve complaints about how their data is handled.